The Two Sides of Food Safety Regulation

As the issue of food safety has shoved itself into the spotlight yet again with a series of massive recalls, we're seeing the divisions that exist over how to legislatively deal with this problem. To oversimplify, one side supports more regulation, and another side believes in less — or at least better scaled — regulation. I've mentioned this before, and a new op-ed on Food Safety News is well worth the read.

Advocates of more regulation see the FDA's shameful lack of authority and money as a critical impediment to any hope for an effective food safety system. Most shocking is the FDA's inability to mandate a recall when a food is found to be contaminated or is the source of an outbreak. In the most recent recall extravaganza surrounding hydrolyzed vegetable protein, the FDA didn't announce a recall until weeks after the contamination was discovered by the company. And this was only after privately urging the company to voluntarily do so itself. 

A bill (S. 510) passed in the House but stalled in the Senate, despite broad bipartisan support, would do much to improve the FDA's authority and capacity to oversee the nation's food system.

Opponents of this bill — those on the less regulation side — believe it's yet another one-size-fits-all approach that favors industrial agriculture and will destroy small farmers with its excessive requirements and regulations. They believe that small, locally-focused operations are inherently safer and healthier.

Several states, including Florida and Wyoming, have proposed legislation to exempt "cottage industry" foods from food safety regulations. Supporters claim these exemptions allow small-scale producers to sell direct to the consumer without the threat of excessive financial burden. The Wyoming bill passed the state House but failed in the state Senate. Florida legislators are still debating.

Both sides of the regulation issue present strong arguments. It's important to keep in mind that foodborne illness is almost entirely the fault of industrial agriculture. Our local farmer is not getting us sick and should not be punished. It's also important to recognize that opportunities to pass meaningful bipartisan legislation are rare, and to miss this chance to reform the food safety system would be a tragic disservice to eaters — all of us — in this country.

It seems that a few changes to the pending Senate legislation could afford greater protections to small-scale producers without compromising the intent of the legislation. It's unlikely this will satisfy extremists on either side of the division, but that's to be expected — these differences are, as Andy Weisbecker says, "the function of different political philosophies and economic agendas."

But those agendas aside, the rest of us deserve safe food, with the choice of buying locally. If we pressure the Senate, it seems this is an achievable goal. I encourage you to act by signing the petition and posting your thoughts below.

Photo: umjanedoan